I received my Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing from Barnard College, Columbia University. I then earned my Master of Science in Nursing from Columbia University School of Nursing.

For the past three years, I have been working with students on their college essays in coordination with two established and respected college counselors. I love the opportunity to help students improve their writing and learn about themselves through the college application process. At Barnard, I majored in English and Creative writing, winning the Axinn Foundation/Anna Quindlen Award for Creative Writing. I have had the opportunity to craft my skills with apprenticeships with well-known writers, Mary Gordon, Rick Bass and the late poet, Saskia Hamilton. My work has appeared in Narrative Magazine as “Story of the Week” and in the Whitefish Review. I also write freelance pieces for news publications primarily focused on the healthcare industry and the nursing profession.

After working as a nurse through the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, I experienced so much suffering and death on a mass scale. Healthcare workers continue to be left unprotected and are expected to sacrifice their own health and safety in the name of the profits of healthcare companies. Staffing shortages, lack of adequate resources and falling wages have made it impossible to have the time in a shift to care for patients in the way I feel is adequate. After having my first child, I decided I wanted to take a break from nursing and focus my attention on writing and teaching.

I believe that the college application process, however tedious, is an opportunity. When else are teenagers given the chance to grapple with the question of who they are and what they want for the future? From the artistic personal statement to the succinct short-answer, I love teaching students how to write in multiple drafts, how to write in a genuine voice and how to be clear and efficient without sacrificing style.